Injection molding of hollow parts such as PET preforms or parisons, and further blow molding them are well known and documented techniques. In many instances these parts are manufactured using molding machines that incorporate specialized robots also called “end of arm tools” or “take out plates”. They remove the molded preforms/parisons from the molding area and transfer them to a post mold temperature conditioning station prior to the blow molding stages.
It is desirable to have an injection molding system where all the components work together in a manner that increases the output of molded parts per system (i.e. a faster cycle time) without increasing the number of the injection molding cavities.
One known option to increase the output of molded preforms (i.e. reduce the cycle time) is to reduce the cooling time of the molded preforms as they solidify in the mold cavities, but this has some limits. The reduction of the cooling time in the mold can be compensated in some instances through additional and immediate cooling of the PET preforms as they are removed and transferred from the mold cavities to other stations of the injection molding system. This approach presents several challenges considering that PET is a highly sensitive material to processing parameters, especially to temperature and the cooling conditions during and after the injection molded stages.
PET, Poly(ethylene terephthalate) is a semicrystalline polyester commonly used in packaging and fiber applications. It has a glass transition temperature of 76° C., a melting temperature of 250° C., an amorphous density at 25° C. of 1.33 g/cm3, a crystalline density at 25° C. of 1.50 g/cm3 and a molecular weight of repeat unit of 192.2 g/mol. The processing temperature of PET is 280-300° C. (536-572° F.). PET exists both as an amorphous (transparent) and as a semi-crystalline (opaque and white) thermoplastic material. Generally, it has good resistance to mineral oils, solvents and acids but not to bases. Semi-crystalline PET has good strength, ductility, stiffness and hardness. Amorphous PET has better ductility but less stiffness and hardness. As polyethylene terephthalate provides an excellent barrier against oxygen and carbon dioxide, PET has become a material of choice for bottling beverages, such as mineral water and carbonated soft drinks.
There are two basic methods to form containers using molded preforms, one-step and two-step. In the two-step process, two separate machines are used—one for injection molding and the other for stretch-blow molding. In the first step the first machine injection molds the preform. The preform looks like a test tube, with bottle-cap threads already molded into place. The body of the tube is significantly thicker, as it will be blow molded (inflated) into its final shape in the second step using stretch-blow molding methods. In the second step, the cold preforms are heated rapidly and then blown (inflated) against a two-part mold to form them into the final shape of the bottle.
Reference is made to patents that show various methods and equipment for injection molding, handling and cooling preforms and more specifically PET preforms. U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,464 to Spurr et al shows a machine system for continuous formation of molecularly oriented plastic bottles by blowing a heat-conditioned parison comprising a set number (N) of parison forming stations and a set but lesser number (N/X) of blowing stations, N/X being an integral fraction of N. A storage area is constructed and arranged between the parison forming and blowing stations. In the method of operation, N number of parisons are formed simultaneously at the parison forming stations, transferred to the storage area, and N/X of the parisons are sequentially withdrawn from the storage area and blown in the set number N/X of blowing stations. The temperature in the storage area is maintained within the temperature range suitable for blowing. Effective use is made of the blowing stations without loss of thermal energy from the parison forming stations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,073 to Rees et al shows a vertical injection-molding machine with two overlapping operating injection molds produces two sets of eight parisons each in staggered operating cycles. Each set of parisons is transferred by a respective carrier assembly, immediately upon the opening of the respective injection mold, into the vicinity of a blow-molding unit with eight cells in which the parisons are inflated into bottles during half an injection cycle. The transfer from the closely spaced injection cavities to the blow-molding unit is performed by several carriers moving over laterally diverging tracks whereby the parisons arrive at the blow-molding unit in pockets of these carriers already separated to the extent necessary for joint introduction into the eight-cell blow mold.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,452 to Delfer shows an injection molding apparatus including a carrier plate cooperating with an injection molding machine and having at least two sets of cavities therein for cooling the hollow plastic articles, with the number of cavities corresponding to a multiple of at least two times the number of hollow plastic articles produced in an injection molding cycle. The apparatus also includes means for aligning one set at a time of said carrier plate cavities to juxtapose said set of cavities with the hollow plastic articles formed in an injection molding cycle, and means for transferring said hollow plastic articles to said juxtaposed cavities.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,732 to Schad shows an apparatus for transferring plastic parisons from a receiving station to a finishing station on a plurality of pallets in a single row for forming the parisons into hollow plastic articles. The pallets with parisons are transported through a temperature conditioning station for temperature conditioning the parisons to render them suitable for forming hollow plastic articles at the finishing station.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,767 to Schad et al shows an apparatus for producing molded plastic articles which is capable of simultaneously producing and cooling the plastic articles. The apparatus has a stationary mold half having at least one cavity, at least two mating mold portions, each having at least one core element, mounted to a movable carrier plate which aligns a first one of the mating mold portions with the stationary mold half and positions a second of the mating mold portions in a cooling position, a device for cooling the molded plastic article(s) when in the cooling position, and a device for moving the carrier plate along a first axis so that the aligned mold portion abuts the stationary mold half and the second mating mold portion simultaneously brings each plastic article(s) thereon into contact with the cooling device. The carrier plate is also rotatable about an axis parallel to the first axis to permit different ones of the mating mold portions to assume the aligned position during different molding cycles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,039 to Valyi discloses an apparatus including a pressure molding machine for delivering plastic articles, a finishing machine for performing a finishing operation upon said articles, a conditioning section operative to adjust the temperature of said articles between the pressure molding machine and finishing machine, a first transporter adapted to remove the articles from the pressure molding machine and a second transporter adapted to transport the articles from the first transporter to the conditioning section.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,476 to Manen shows an apparatus for the injection molding of synthetic products, comprising a mold provided with a plurality of cavities, a discharge device and a robot device for receiving the products molded in the cavities of the mold and transferring those products to the discharge device. The robot device has at least two receiving plates, each capable of receiving a number of molded products equal to at least once the number of cavities of the mold, and a drive device for successively bringing the receiving plates into a receiving position next to the mold, and for bringing a receiving plate from the receiving position into a take-over position and back again, in which take-over position the molded products can be taken over from the mold.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,951 to Coxhead et al. shows an article handling and conditioning system for use between associated machines and associated processes are disclosed. The system comprises: at least one initial molding machine and a finishing machine, a device for receiving initially molded articles from the at least one initial molding machine prior to finishing in the finish machine, a first mechanism for accumulating devices for receiving and the initially molded articles, a mechanism for transporting the device for receiving and the initially molded articles from the initial molding machine to the first mechanism for accumulating, a mechanism for moving the devices for receiving and the initially molded articles through the first mechanism for accumulating and a device for transferring the initially molded articles from the first mechanism for accumulating to the finishing machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,789 to Neter et al shows a multi-stage, post-mold cooling method and apparatus used in conjunction with an injection molding machine having an aggressive cycle time and a high output. The apparatus includes a thermal conditioning device/station with cooling tubes for keeping separate the preforms of each batch and effecting cooling of the molded preforms, several separated cooling levels for simultaneously cooling multiple batches of preforms, and internal devices for automatically transferring each batch of molded preforms from one cooling level to the next. The thermal a conditioning device/station is partially sealed to create a controlled temperature environment for conditioning the molded articles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,520,765 to von Manen et al shows an injection molding apparatus with robot device and mechanical pull-out device for removing preforms from the robot device, the robot device comprising a number of receiving tubes for preforms, the preforms being disposed in the tubes such that a collar and a screw thread portion of the neck of the bottles to be formed reach outside the receiving tubes, and the pull-out device comprising clamping elements which are positioned opposite the robot when it is in an ejection position, while first driving means for the clamping elements are provided, which can move the clamping elements towards the receiving tubes of the robot arm and away there from, respectively, and second driving means which can bring the clamping elements into a closed clamping position or an opened position, as well as control means for the first and second driving means.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,077,641 to Hirasawatsu et al. shows a preform conveying device of high production efficiency under the technical theme of aligning the plurality of preforms in single rows at high speed, while eliminating contact of individual preforms with other preforms and minimizing the chances of contact with device parts. In a state in which a plurality of preforms are aligned vertically and laterally, preforms are received in a manner partitioned in vertical row units, and by putting a conveying line, formed along the direction of a vertical row of preforms, in an inclined orientation in which the downstream side is raised, positioning the upstream end of the conveying line above a preform receiving part, and moving the vertical row unit of preforms that is positioned along the conveying line in the vertical row direction at substantially the same speed as the conveying speed of the conveying line, the respective preforms of the vertical row unit are transferred in a state in which each is sandwiched by the conveying line and this is carried out successively for each vertical row unit to supply the plurality of preforms to a blow molding machine or other subsequent process side upon aligning them in single rows.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,094,377 to Coran, et al. shows and apparatus for handling and cooling preforms, comprising a collection element provided with a plurality of receptacles arranged according to a definite geometrical distribution pattern and adapted to accommodate a corresponding plurality of preforms, as well as a cooling element. The collection element is displaceable from a preform loading position to several distinct positions, arranged above the cooling element, which is provided with a plurality of cups collected into a plurality of distinct, but similar geometrical distribution patterns that are translated with respect to each other in such a manner as to prevent them from interfering with each other. The collection element can be selectively positioned in a number of such positions as to ensure that, in each one of said positions, the geometrical distribution pattern of the receptacles comes to be placed exactly above a specific geometrical distribution pattern of the cups, so that the preforms are capable of falling from the receptacles exactly into respective cups.
US Publication 20060138696 to Weinmann shows a method and a device for the secondary treatment and the cooling of preforms once they have been removed from the open mould halves of an injection molding machine. The preforms are removed from the open moulds while still hot, by means of water-cooled cooling sleeves of a removal device, and are subjected to intensive cooling during the duration of an injection molding cycle. Both the entire inner side and the entire outer side of the blow-molded part are subjected to intensive cooling. Secondary cooling is then carried out, the duration thereof being equal to a multiple of the duration of an injection molding cycle. After being removed from the casting moulds, the preforms are dynamically introduced into the cooling sleeves until they fully touch the walls thereof. The inner cooling is carried out in a time-delayed manner.